PP Accreditation

Confused About Your USPAP Status?

USPAP for Standards 7 and 8 Users (PP, GJ, MTS)

There has been quite a bit of confusion regarding the USPAP requirements for ASA appraisers who have their designations in Personal Property, Gems & Jewelry and Machinery & Technical Specialties. The questions and answers below should help clear up some of the confusion. The responses will also help ASA appraisers to understand their options and differentiate between the 15-Hour USPAP courses and the 7-Hour USPAP courses (as well as the “national”1and USPAP for PP courses).

1The “national” course refers to the USPAP course that is taught for certification of real property appraisers.

Most Frequently Asked Questions about USPAP

Any ASA appraiser who uses USPAP Standards 7 and 8 and is current with USPAP (has taken the 15-hour in the last five years OR the 7-hour in the last two years) can and should take the 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course. This course provides appraisers with up-to-date information on changes in the 2014-15 USPAP material that went into effect on January 1, 2014. The 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course is not acceptable for Real Property appraisers who need to qualify for state licensing or certifying state agencies.

The first time anyone takes USPAP, they must take the 15-hour course. From then on, the 7-hour course is the best choice to stay updated on the USPAP changes that occur every two years. Candidates are encouraged to fulfill their continuing education USPAP requirement with the 7-hour course rather than waiting for five years to learn about past changes.

You can certainly take the course; however, since you are not “current” with your USPAP qualification, you will not have fulfilled the ASA USPAP requirement. The 15-hour course is only good for five years. Therefore, you must take another 15-hour course to get back onto the required schedule.

The 15-hour course lasts for two days and covers the entire USPAP document—all the rules, standards, definitions, the preamble, statements, etc. To get credit for the course, you must pass the exam. The 7-hour course is a one-day course covering the most recent changes in USPAP. The 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course features a discussion period that focuses on current issues that Standard 7 and 8 users face in their daily practices.

Both courses provide standards, rules, definitions, and other information to enable professional appraisers to practice ethically and competently. The “national” course uses primarily real property examples to show application of USPAP concepts. The “national” course focuses on Standards 1 and 2 and the development and reporting of appraisals of real property. The USPAP for PP course provides examples from the personal property, gems and jewelry and machinery and technical specialties worlds. The course is taught focusing on Standards 7 and 8 and the development and reporting of personal property appraisals.

Both courses cover the changes that were made by The Appraisal Standards Board in USPAP for 2014-15. The first section of the 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course is exactly like the “national” or “regular” course which focuses on real estate appraisers and the issues they face. To demonstrate the changes in USPAP, the PP course has been modified to provide discussion examples that focus on personal property, gems and jewelry or machinery and equipment. The last portion of the “national” 7-Hour USPAP Update Course poses questions for discussion that deal with the real property market. The last portion of the 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course focuses on the issues facing Standard 7 and 8 users.

The classroom and the online courses for the 7-hour PP USPAP Update Course use the same classroom manual. All participants must have either an open telephone line or a another form of electronic hook up to be able to converse with the instructors. For the ASA version of the class, there will be two instructors ( one from PP and one from MTS), leading the discussions in the second half of the course

More than four years ago, the Foundation provided ASA with a letter stating that members from all disciplines within ASA are permitted to take a 7-hour course to fulfill their USPAP requirement. The 2014-15 USPAP for Personal Property was written by The Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation.

At this time, the only requirement for ASA appraisers of PP, MTS and GJ is to remain current with USPAP. Because there are so few courses out there for Standards 7 and 8 users, we have added no requirement to take the 7-hour rather than the 15-hour course (after an appraiser has successfully completed their first 15-hour course). It should be noted that the USPAP with which appraisers must comply is the one current as of the date of the appraisal report they have prepared. Appraisers are responsible for knowing what is in the current USPAP materials and must comply with any changes (regardless of when they took their last USPAP course). The Appraiser Qualifications Board is currently reviewing The Personal Property Minimum Qualifications that have been in place since the late 1990s. The last exposure draft added the requirement that all Standard 7 and 8 users take a USPAP class every two years in order to remain current with USPAP. The AQB hopes to finalize these minimum qualifications by the end of the year.

ASA appraisers using Standards 7 and 8 do not have to take a course from an ASA instructor for the 15-hour version of the USPAP course. However, the instructor must be AQB-certified (Appraisal Qualifications Board) and the course must be either The Appraisal Foundation approved “national” course (real property focus) or the personal property version (USPAP for PP). Because The Appraisal Foundation has not provided an official 7-Hour PP USPAP Update Course, you should check with the Chair of your discipline or Vice Chair on the Board of Examiners.

The Second Exposure Draft for the Personal Property Minimum Qualifications was released a month ago by the Appraisal Qualifications Board and includes more information on the future of these rules. The current version of the exposure draft requires that all PP, GJ and MTS appraisers take a USPAP course every two years. The exposure draft allows appraisers to take either an approved 7- or 15-hour version of either the “national” course or the USPAP for PP course. Again, because there are few offering by AQB-certified instructors in Personal Property, appraisers have the option of any of the four courses to fulfill their USPAP course requirements.

ASA will keep all appraisers informed of any changes to this document.